Jingzhou, formerly known as Jiangling and Du Ying, is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province and one of the transportation hubs in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River approved by the State Council. Jingzhou is located in the middle of China, south-central Hubei, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the hinterland of Jianghan Plain. It was the capital of Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is one of the first batch of 24 national historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council, an excellent tourist city in China, a national garden city, an important comprehensive transportation hub and a port city in the Yangtze River.